I disagree with the notion that this film tries to do too much, I do agree that this film is a character study, an exceptional one. Om Puri is eminently watchable throughout. The film falsely dresses itself up as a comedy at the outset, then dabbles with an estranged father-son drama, veers toward a topical political fanaticism-cum-fascism treatise, flirts with a romance, all as a way to just keep your eye on that character study.
More important than huge issues is the story of one man.
So even when I found myself trying to do too much with the film while watching it, aligning the German businessman and Farid's fanatics both bruising to women and both desiring to remake that neighborhood for their own ulterior motives, I kept coming back to Parvez. Both the German and imam want to order Parvez about, but it is his sense of right and wrong, clearly flawed and at times hypocritical, that resonates most with me.
The choice of having him be a taxi driver is excellent, someone surrounded by people in his job...but isolated from the at the same time. The character study is augmented not just by Puri's performance, but by having really excellent actors as foils to him. I find myself very curious about Minoo, Fizzy as well as Farid and Sandra of course. Even Stellan Skarsgard's Schitz will his fans I suspect, I was definitely curious about his plans.
But I think Hanif Kureish has no plans for a segue, this film is not only about one man, but just this one moment in his life as well.
7.5/10 Thurston Hunger
More important than huge issues is the story of one man.
So even when I found myself trying to do too much with the film while watching it, aligning the German businessman and Farid's fanatics both bruising to women and both desiring to remake that neighborhood for their own ulterior motives, I kept coming back to Parvez. Both the German and imam want to order Parvez about, but it is his sense of right and wrong, clearly flawed and at times hypocritical, that resonates most with me.
The choice of having him be a taxi driver is excellent, someone surrounded by people in his job...but isolated from the at the same time. The character study is augmented not just by Puri's performance, but by having really excellent actors as foils to him. I find myself very curious about Minoo, Fizzy as well as Farid and Sandra of course. Even Stellan Skarsgard's Schitz will his fans I suspect, I was definitely curious about his plans.
But I think Hanif Kureish has no plans for a segue, this film is not only about one man, but just this one moment in his life as well.
7.5/10 Thurston Hunger